Green Child Magazine Summer 2012

Fresh Ideas For Healthy Summer Foods

Free Range Summers

Letting Kids Be Kids

Summer Safety Natural First Aid

Summer 2012

Green Living Expert

Sara Snow

on Food, “Stuff” & Mindful Living with Kids 1

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Features Free Range Summers

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Green Travel with Kids

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Green Child Talks to Sara Snow 18 Natural First Aid

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Summer Parties in Eco Style

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Raising Happy Healthy Eaters

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The Paleo Diet for Kids

58

30 Ways to Reduce Your Impact

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Raising Children in the Country 30

In Every Issue EcoFab Eco Craft Look, Listen, Read Great Stores Fashion Anni’s Kitchen Nutritional Nuggets What’s in Season The More You Know Eco Ask Green Grandma Your Green Child

photo submitted by Kristen Brundige

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greenchildmagazine.com3

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from our publisher & editor Welcome, summer!

As I write this letter from the front porch, our oldest son is playing basketball and our little guy just ran around back to play on the swing set. It’s an early reminder that summer is my favorite time of year with them.

When I read the article in this issue about Free Range Summers (page 6), I couldn’t help but think of my own childhood. Riding bikes with my cousins, swimming all day with my brother, or wading in the creek over the hill from our house… no one would have called it free range, but in retrospect, it’s just how life was back then.

We had some scheduled activities, but so many of my memories center around playing outside with my friends, our cats, or contentedly by myself.

Sara Snow brings this point home again (page 18) sharing her toddler daughter’s ability to play by herself, “To me, there’s such peacefulness that can be found when you’re just on your own, and nothing is required of you.”

Clearly there are some parts of summer that have to be scheduled or arranged in advance – vacations, sports, camping trips, or birthday parties. But this year, let’s try not to lose sight of homemade ice pops, making a clover flower necklace, or tossing rocks in a puddle to see how big they can splash.

And just in case you need a refresher course in how to play, your kids will be more than willing to teach you.

Amity ON THE COVER: Photo by Polina Osherov

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Free Ran

6

nge Summers

Let Kids Be Kids

|by Free Range Mama

“Free range� is generally a term we use when we are looking for a healthier meat alternative, not discussing our upcoming summer holidays. But when the broad definition means "to roam freely instead of being contained" you have to allow me the rather unusual choice of terminology. Have you ever watched a child walk through a forest? Run her fingers through sand? Sit down on a soft, furry carpet of moss? Throw rocks into a pond? Build leaf boats and float them down a creek? Or lie on her back in a grassy field and make pictures out of the clouds? Have you ever just sat back and observed the intensity of imagination and the pure, unadulterated absorption of children becoming one with nature?

Studies indicate that children are spending less time in nature, and are suffering more from anxiety, depression and behavioural problems than ever before. Richard Louv coined the term "Nature Deficit Disorder" in his book "Last Child In The Woods". Based on his own studies, he claims that "parental fears, restricted access to natural areas, and the lure of the screen" are causing children to spend less time in a natural environment. He states that a decline in respect towards our natural environment, an increase in obesity, ADD and ADHD, and mood disorders are all symptoms of Nature Deficit Disorder.

And I believe it. In an age where organized sports for children is at its highest and so too is obesity, depression and anxiety, we still haven't "caught on" to the real issue at hand.

Children have learned from and lived with nature ever since the beginning of time. Today, with parental fear of strangers, the lure of TV, games and the internet, and the loss of natural surroundings in neighbourhoods, it isn't surprising that children are losing a respect for and an understanding of our natural surroundings.

We don't have to let our children be a part of this growing phenomenon. If we really want to reconnect our children with our natural world there are plenty of opportunities. And summer is the perfect time of year to take action. This summer, skip a few days of cement water parks, chlorine-filled pools, metal playgrounds and organized sports. Take a few hours in each day, or a day a week to really FEEL nature. And don't force it. Allow children to free range and explore to their hearts' content. Be a bird in a tree and observe the interaction between child and the natural environment. BREATHE the fresh air. LIVE the moment. And know you are bringing your child back to a place instinctively natural, where she can be herself or anything else she imagines herself to be.

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Free Range Summers 5 Ways to Reconnect With Nature This Summer 1. Go camping. Spend a night in a tent in a campground. Hear the wind rustling through the trees. Watch for shooting stars. Cook over a camp fire and watch the wildlife around you.

2. Go for a day hike. Bring a book on native animal or plant species and try to identify your surroundings. Hug a tree. Take a few minutes to sit down and listen to the sounds nature makes.

3. Plant a garden together. Teach your child firsthand where her food comes from. If you don't have space for a garden, rent space in a community garden or plant a container garden.

Make sure you teach your child how to care for it, weed it, water it and harvest it. Collecting seeds for the next year is also a teachable moment.

4. Head to a more secluded beach or riverbed.

Forget the plastic beach toys and help your child find driftwood, shells, rocks and leaves to play with. Sit back and let her explore.

5. Go on a picnic to an area with natural surroundings. It doesn't have to be a forest or a massive, empty field. Even just a park (minus the monkey bars) or a neighbourhood green belt. Somewhere you can sit back, relax and share a healthy snack with the ones you love.

Make sure to give your child plenty of alone time to observe and interact. Enjoy a laid back, noschedule summer this year with plenty of free range time to learn, grow and connect with the beauty and reality of Mother Nature. Build memories and learn life lessons. Your children will always remember these moments and will thank you for them some day.

Free Range Mama blogs for My Healthy Green Family. She is a home-cooking, organically-growing, eco-friendly, sustainably-living mom of three.

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Tips for

Green Travel with Kids |by Lori Alper

Summer is the official kick-off for family road trips, travel and family fun. Traveling with you kids is a great opportunity to introduce them to the world beyond their backdoor.

Traveling is also a chance to show your children that being on the road doesn’t have to mean letting go of all the green and eco-friendly choices we work so hard to achieve during our dayto-day life. Admittedly, it’s not always easy to travel with minimal eco-impact, but being green while traveling is very doable.

Here are a few tips to help you reduce your impact on the environment when traveling with your kids:

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• Find Non-Stop Flights. Booking nonstop flights whenever possible will cut back on carbon emissions. A significant percentage of a plane’s carbon emissions come from takeoff and landing. If the closest local airport doesn’t have nonstop flights to a specific location check in with other local airports to see if nonstop flights are available. You might have to drive a bit further, but saving on carbon emissions makes it worthwhile.

• Pack Healthy Snacks from Home.

Whether you’re flying, driving or taking the train, it’s easy when traveling to pull into convenience stores or fast food restaurants for a quick hunger fix. To avoid the temptation plan ahead and pack healthy snacks from home. My kids love to help plan the snacks. I give each of them their own reusable snack bags and let them create their own snacks for the trip. Our favorite snack for the road is trail mix.

• Bring Reusable Water Bottles. Reusable water bottles are easy to bring along wherever your travels make take you. Keep them full in the car and you won’t need to stop for plastic, single-use bottles. At the airport keep your reusable bottles empty

until you’ve passed through security. Fill them up on the other side of the security check point. Single use plastic water bottles create unnecessary waste that’s clogging our overflowing landfills and the plastic can be harmful to your health.

• Shop Locally. Show your support for the community you are visiting by eating locally and frequenting the local shops.

Look for farmer’s markets and restaurants that showcase local products. Locally products don’t have to travel far to reach you so the carbon emissions are much less than products that are imported. Use Greenmap.org to download local maps to help find the best green living resources in your area.

• Public Transportation, Walk or Bike.

Once you arrive at your destination use your legs or rent a bike to see the sights.

Using public transportation, walking or biking will keep your carbon footprint to a minimum. There’s no better way to tire those little ones out and guarantee a good night’s sleep for all.

• Stay in an Eco-Friendly Hotel. Many hotels throughout the world are focusing their efforts on becoming ‘green’ hotels with sustainable practices. Take the time before you book a hotel room to do a little research and verify that your hotel is among the eco-friendly. Check in with a hotel rating site like Eco Hotels of the World which is a free online guide created to showcase the most environmentallyfriendly hotels in the world.

• Turn off the Lights, Turn Off the AC. Save energy by remembering to turn off the hotel room lights when you head out for the day. Open up a few windows and

turn off the air conditioner (provided the outside temperature isn’t too hot) and turn off the television. Involve your children and have them help keep their good, green habits from home in place while traveling.

• Take Advantage of the Linen Reuse Program. Many hotels have programs in place where you can opt out of the daily sheet and towel service. I don’t change my towels and sheets every day at home so why would I need that service on vacation? What a simple way to conserve water and energy. Encourage your children to hang their towels after use so they can be reused the following day.

• Cut Back on the Showers. Sometimes vacation can mean more than one shower each day-once in the morning and again after getting out of the pool. Create awareness around the number of showers and the length of showers. Try to cut back to conserve water and energy. If your kids are small have them bathe together!

• Bring Your Reusable Bags. Pack your reusable bags in your suitcase so they are ready to head to the store, farmers market or beach with you. What a simple way to avoid plastic bags and make a big difference.

Each tip is a small, simple way to make a big impact on the environment. Happy travels!

Lori Popkewitz Alper is the founder and editor-in-chief of Groovy Green Livin, a site dedicated to sharing simple green living tips and current information on sustainable living with individuals, families, schools and businesses.

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Keep the wet suits separate in beachy fun waterproof bags. 100% cotton designer fabric exterior with zipper closure & a thick and soft BPA-Free, PVC-Free lining $18 at Itzy Ritzy

What are your child’s shades made of? The people at Babiators know when little ones grab something, the first place it goes is the mouth. That’s the reason behind Babiators BPA-free flexible rubber frame design. $20 at Babiators 13

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Streamline Your Summer

Sandy Kreps shares 5 ways to keep summer simple with kids.

1 Pack a picnic and visit differ-

ent, unexplored playgrounds and walking trails around your city.

The kids will get exercise, and you'll get out of the house (for free!)

2 Have a (non-rigid) schedule.

Break up your time into defined chunks so everyone knows what to expect when. Keep mealtimes and bedtime consistent.

3 The cure for summer boredom?

Bring out a hidden box of craft supplies, summer workbooks, bubbles, board games or a rotation of seldom-seen toys.

4 Keep a summer survival kit

Image by Kristen Brundige

in your car with sunscreen, safe insect repellent, picnic blanket, umbrella, ball or frisbee, and extra water.

5 Make a summer "bucket list." As

a family, create a list of activities (camping out in the yard, bowling, pillow forts, making ice pops) to do over the summer, then consult your list anytime boredom strikes.

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DIY Tutorial

Always In Bloom |by Heather Valentine

vel e L l Skil tton 1 Bu

Materials:

• Out Grown Clothing • Spray Starch • Twigs

Tools:

• Hot Glue Gun • Sewing Machine or Needle & Thread

Instructions:

1. To create your flower, cut clothing into strips 14” long by 4” wide. To add stiffness spray with spray starch and iron. Fold in half. Your piece is now 2” wide.

2. Straight stitch along the folded edge. (Note if you do not have a sewing machine, this step can be skipped or done by hand.)

3. With a long basting straight stitch; start at the folded edge; stitch along the length of strip edge; curving back to end at the corner. You will notice that I created a half moon shape.

Leave the threads long at each end. Trim excess fabric away. Pull the top thread of your basting stitch to create gathers.

4. Apply hot glue to the top of your twig and attach your flower fabric. Twist and turn the twig applying glue as needed. Tuck the tail of flower at the base of bud/twig.

5. If you would like to attach a leave, cut a leave shape on fold; glue in place, wrapping around the twig.

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Heather is the inspiration behind The Sewing Loft. The mission of all patterns is focused around the 3 R’s: Reclaim, Recycle, Recraft.

Don’t these look great when grouped together? Here are a few ideas on how to use them!

• Create a keepsake from your child’s favorite clothes.

• Use vintage sheets to create an amazing flower girl bouquet.

This would be perfect for an outdoor • Wedding or maybe that rehearsal dinner for the flower girl.

• Take that wedding dress out of the box and create a wonderful bouquet. Scary to cut into I know, but it could be used on every anniversary, a child’s birth, Christening, or any special day!

Two long sleeve shirts, one pair of pants and fabric scraps were used to make one dozen roses. (The clothes were size 7/8)

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Green Child Magazine Green Living Expert & Mother

S

“Authentic” is one of the first words that comes to mind when you listen to Sara Snow speak about green living. Growing up in the 70’s, Sara lived in a passive solar heated home and ate fresh foods from her extended family’s organic garden.

As an adult, she spent seven years as an Emmy-Award winning television producer. Turning her experience and passion into her life’s work, she created her own TV series, Discovery’s Living Fresh, and later Get Fresh with Sara Snow. After authoring her first book, Sara Snow’s Fresh Living, she settled into her current job – mom to her now toddler daughter, Sylvia. : You were raised with an emphasis on sustainability a few decades before it was popular. Can you tell us more about your family’s “back to the land” movement?

Sara: It certainly wasn’t as popular back then

as it is now. I grew up in a home that was very much “green,” in a time when people weren’t really thinking about living in a green way.

My dad (Tim Redmond, founder of Eden Foods) was one of the people helping to make the natural food movement happen. Because of that, my parents taught my three siblings and me to be mindful of the food we ate, to live as low impact as we could, and to not take 18

from the earth more than we could give back.

We grew as much of our food as we possibly could. The rest came from my dad’s natural food store, Eden Foods, in Ann Arbor Michigan. Eden Foods has since become one of the largest international distributors of natural & organic foods.

When I was two years old, we moved to an area outside of Ann Arbor to live in a way we were surrounded by nature and family. There were 40 acres situated around a lake and forest that we shared with my grandparents and my aunt and uncle. It was incredible - like our own little family commune.

e Talks With

Sara Snow : You’ve said before that your home wasn’t the cool place to go eat dinner…

Sara: Yes, you might be fed tofu and beans.

Not exactly what other families were eating at the time. But my parents intuitively saw food as health. They taught us that you really are what you eat – physically and mentally.

They explained to us that we live this way and eat this way for a reason, but that it’s ok to go to a friend’s house and have a brownie or eat pizza. “Just pay attention to the way it makes you feel,” they’d tell us.

Image by Polina Osherov

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Sara Snow Interview

And I believe that empowered us to not only have balance, but also be educated to make our own health decisions.

We never felt trapped by the confines of a very rigorous or strict diet. I think it’s even more relevant today – as parents can sometimes be extremist. You know, they decide to feed their kids organic food and become zealots about it.

Or they’re anti-sugar in their home, and in turn, anti-sugar everywhere they go. I think it’s good to set boundaries, but I also think it’s important to allow flexibility. : Right. Kids are just like us. If you tell us we absolutely can’t have something… it’s all we can think about.

Sara: Sure, and as soon as they’re out of your

sight, they might go crazy if a birthday party is the first time they’ve encountered sweets and desserts, and I don’t think that’s good for anyone.

: Let’s talk about kids and “stuff.” In an interview when you were pregnant with your daughter, Sylvia, you were asked if you had all the latest green baby bedding and clothes lined up. Your answer was that you had the very basic non-toxic items covered, but that you were planning to wait until she got here to see what she needed.

Sara: We just don’t need all of this stuff that

we are marketed to believe that we need. Think back to the way we were raised, without wipe warmers and all these gadgets. They’re just not necessary. If you start a young child out with all this stuff, you can get trapped in continuing to raise them that way.

I believe it’s good for a young child to get bored.

That’s how they learn to entertain themselves with an empty box or a pencil and paper rather than an electronic device. They don’t need constant stimulation. Being played with and talked to is definitely good for development, but there’s a balance to keep for peace of mind/spirit standpoint. : In the age of technology, mindful living is more important than ever. As a parent, how do you help encourage awareness and living consciously?

Sara: As an infant, if Sylvia was ly-

ing peacefully cooing at something – as much as I sometimes wanted to pick her up and hold her – I knew that it was healthy for her to be content where she was in that moment.

I wanted to let her experience that peace with herself and not feel like she was being pressured to perform.

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We were never fans of letting her cry it out. But if she would cry in the night, I would give it a second before going to her room, because maybe she’s just waking up, and she’ll settle and go back to sleep on her own. Or maybe she really does need something, and then I would get her if she did.

To me, there’s such peacefulness that can be found when you’re just on your own, and nothing is required of you. She will be two in June, and she can spend a lot of time playing on her own. That is one of the things that makes me the happiest is when I peek around the corner and see her playing happily with her toys and books. To me, that is a comfortable, confident, wise little child. : Our readers sometimes lament the fact that raising a healthy child can make you feel like the odd mom out. How do you balance your ideal world – healthy foods, not a ton of plastic toys – with the real world, without coming across as preachy?

Sara: I don’t let it bother me. It’s who I am.

So along with that, I’m not going to slap my daughter’s hand away if there’s a snack we don’t normally eat. The same way as if I go to a dinner party, and they serve a food that I wouldn’t necessarily serve at my house, I’m not going to say, “Oh no, I don’t eat that sort of thing.”

It’s more important to be gracious than to worry about eating a few bites of a food you don’t normally eat.

People may say something jokingly. But they may actually be curious about how to get their kids to eat that healthy snack.

: Very well said. Tell us what’s next for you – books, TV shows, additions to the Snow family?

I really believe everyone wants to raise healthy kids. Even the parents out there who are letting their kids eat the junkiest foods. They wish they were raising healthy kids, but maybe it’s just not a fight they can win right now. And that’s ok too. Life is crazy and life is busy and you just can’t beat yourself up for the battle you’re not winning at that particular moment. You just have to let it go.

Sara: Well, it took us seven years to get preg-

I never pass judgment on people for bringing junky snacks. And I can only hope they wouldn’t pass judgment on me if I’m the one bringing healthy snacks.

nant the first time. I had to slow down before that happened, and I’ve actually stayed in slowdown mode longer than I anticipated, but it just feels so right for now.

So yes, I am working on another book, and we’re developing another TV show, but it’s just not going to happen tomorrow. We do hope to have another child, and if it doesn’t happen naturally, then we will be very excited to adopt our second child. We don’t have any news to report yet, but stay tuned!

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Look Listen Read 201 Healthy Smoothies & Juices for Kids

by Amy Roskelley

Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to get your child to eat fruits and vegetables. And making your own juice can limit the amount of added sugars or artificial sweeteners in your family’s diet. To prevent “same old smoothie” burnout, Amy Roskelley’s book offers 201 easy recipes for kidfriendly smoothies and juices.

With tasty recipes and fun names like White Whimsy Grape Fizzy and Raspberry Rascals, your child will want to be in charge of the beverage menu from now on! ($10 at Amazon)

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Indigo Dreams: Garden of Wellness

by Lori Lite

Kids + stress is not a fun or healthy combination. Author and certified children’s meditation facilitator, Lori Lite, created a series of CDs and audio books designed to introduce relaxation and stress management techniques to kids.

Children ages 5-11 follow along as they use positive statements to build self-esteem, deal with challenging situations like bullying, and even learn to make healthy food choices.

They also learn emotional coping techniques of breathing and visualizing to release angry, hurt, or sad feelings that might arise from being excluded or teased. ($8 at MP3 or $16 Audio CD at Stress Free Kids)

Green

by Laura Vaccaro Seeger It isn’t billed as an eco-friendly book for kids, but Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s mesmerizing book encourages a subtle appreciation for all things “green” and natural. With vivid images of the lush green of a forest on a late spring day, the incandescent green of a firefly, and the aquamarine of a tropical sea, this book delights young readers. Children will love looking for the cut-outs on each page and guessing what is to come on the next. ($12 at Amazon) 23

What is Summer Fun?...

Chasing fireflies in your Jammies!

10% off your order Code: GC2054 Good thru June 15th 24

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Get A Little ‘Me Time’

Sustainable Living with a Modern Twist

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Image by Siddharth Nair

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Natural First Aid

for

Summertime Ailments |by Susie Bryan

For almost every common summertime ailment, there is a natural treatment that will help you make your family feel better and make you feel better about treating them without chemicals and unnecessary preservatives.

While you may not put these natural treatments into a little canvas bag or plastic box with a big red cross on it, keep them on hand for fast access when you need to treat your little ones over the summer months.

Put Together a Natural First Aid Kit

It’s quick and easy to put together a “kit” to treat summer ailments or injuries naturally.

Here’s a list of things to keep on hand: • Aloe Vera Gel (either an aloe vera plant or a bottle of the juice or gel) • Epsom salts • Baking soda • Rubbing alcohol • Meat tenderizer • Witch Hazel • Vinegar – white and apple cider

• • • •

Peroxide Bananas Plain adult aspirin Essential oils* – Citronella, Lavender, Eucalyptus and Lemongrass • Distilled water • 4 ounce glass spray bottle with a fine mist setting

*Always use pure, therapeutic grade essential oils to ensure that you’re not getting additives and preservatives you don’t need or want.

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Natural First Aid Here’s How to Use Them For Sunburn: Bathe in cool water with Epsom salts to ease the pain. After your bath, towel off and apply pure Aloe Vera Gel to the sunburn. Few things will soothe sunburn like aloe vera gel. Keep an aloe vera plant handy in your yard and break off a leaf to rub the juice on sunburns (works great on cuts and scrapes, too). If you can’t keep an aloe vera plant handy or you want a more portable way to use aloe vera juice, it’s available in gel form or as a liquid.

For Cuts and Scrapes: You can use witch hazel, vinegar or peroxide to clean the wound and aloe vera gel to help soothe the irritated skin.

Mosquito Bites Few things are more irritating in the summer heat than mosquito bites. To help stop the itch, make a paste using baking soda and water and apply it to the bite.

An alternative treatment is to crush 3 plain adult aspirin tablets and mix them with water (just a few drops) to make a paste and apply to the bite twice a day.

Bee Stings First, make sure that the person isn’t allergic to

bee stings. If they are, forget any

home remedy and get medical

attention immediately.

If there are no allergy considerations, remove the stinger by running the edge of a credit card along the welt on the skin (works better than tweezers and you’re more likely to have a credit card handy than a pair of tweezers anyway). Mix 2 teaspoons of baking soda with about a quarter teaspoon of water to make a thick paste and apply it to the sting. Leave it on there until the pain stops.

An alternative treatment is to mix baking soda, vinegar and meat tenderizer to make a paste and apply it to the sting. Again, leave the paste on until the pain stops.

Regardless of which paste you use, apply ice to the sting after you remove the paste to reduce swelling.

Poison Ivy Pour rubbing alcohol on the affected area and then wash it immediately with cool water and soap to remove as much of the plant sap as possible. Dry the skin and apply the meat side of a banana peel on the skin to help dry out the rash.

Swimmer’s Ear Who doesn’t like spending time in the pool or at the beach during the summer? The downside, other than sunburn, can be swimmer’s ear. First clean the ear by mixing equal parts of water, apple cider vinegar and rubbing alcohol and put one drop into each ear and let it dry. Do this twice a day and you’ll take care of any problems with swimmer’s ear.

An alternative treatment is to mix equal parts of water, white vinegar and peroxide, put one drop into the ear and allow it to dry. Again, do this twice a day.

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Natural First Aid Insect Repellent Why go to the trouble of putting together a natural first aid kit if you’re going to keep spraying your family down with DEET every day before they go outside to keep mosquitoes at bay? Commercial insect repellents are toxic, smell awful and can cause skin rashes and breathing problems in people sensitive to the chemicals they contain. Here’s a good natural alternative that you can feel good about using (and it smells great, too!)

In a 4 ounce glass spray bottle with a fine mist setting, combine: • • • • •

3 ounces of distilled water 15 drops of Citronella essential oil 10 drops of Lavender essential oil 10 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil 5 drops of Lemongrass essential oil

Shake the bottle each time before you use it.

Essential oils don’t dissolve in water. If you don’t shake the bottle before each use you run the risk of getting the concentrated oils on your skin instead of the diluted version and you could have some skin irritation as a result.

Mist your skin and clothing with the mixture and reapply it as needed.

The great thing about natural first aid treatments is that you will have most of these items in your kitchen pantry or bathroom medicine cabinet. The key is knowing how to use them to treat common summer illnesses and injuries and having them in a place where you can get to them quickly when you need them.

Put your natural first aid kit together now and you’ll be ready to face the summer safe in the knowledge that you can handle whatever mishaps come your way.

Find out how you can enter for a chance to win the therapeutic essential oils that make up this safe insect repellent!

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Raising Children in the Co

- 5 Ways Your Kids Can

|by Victoria Gazeley

“Come see what I built!”

It was an invitation from my almost-9-yearold son, Jonah, to visit the space he had built for himself to ‘get away from it all’. He led me carefully through one of the many patches of undergrowth near our little cabin, thick with salmonberries just starting to bud with bright green leaves (and sticky thorns).

Then we came upon it – a tiny little hut, built with intricate layers of windfall branches and ferns, its entrance hidden by a particularly dense spray of hemlock.

“It’s where I can lie and listen to the sounds of the forest, and the songs of the birds.”

And right then I knew my decision to leave our city life behind was the right one.

The Journey from Subdivision to Townhouse to Log Cabin in the Woods I always thought I'd move out of the city when I welcomed children into my life. I just didn't realize how profound an impact it would have on my son - or myself.

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I grew up in a rural community – in a subdivision, mind you, but in a district where only 20,000 people lived along a narrow strip of land that stretch for 70 miles along the rocky coast. Bears visited our backyard regularly, and we spent our weekends in the mountains, exploring abandoned logging camps and old First Nations villages, hiking to extinct volcanic craters, and riding dirt bikes in the empty lots down the street. We learned all the native edible and medicinal plants, the names of all the trees that towered over us, and which wild birds like which sorts of native berries. We fished, we rode bikes, and we got dirty. Most importantly, we spent most of our waking hours outside.

When my son was born in 2003 and we ended up living in a townhouse on a busy road in the city, all those amazing childhood experiences came flooding back - and I realized, sadly, that his life was going to be very different. His school days would be interrupted by sirens and construction projects, he'd have to sidestep doggy doo (and other nasties) every time he went for a walk in the forest, and he'd never really know the joys of silence - at least not on anything resembling a regular basis.

For his own memories' sake, I wanted him to

ountry

n Benefifit

know a summer day where all you can hear is crickets, the rustling of the wind in dry, tall grass, and the distant hum of a float plane buzzing to some far off island. We definitely weren't going to find any of those things living in a townhouse.

I loved many things about our city, nestled between the sea and the mountains, but getting my little guy out into 'nature' was an more of an effort than I was able to pull off most days. During my maternity leave, we'd hop on the bus and spend our days in the forest (with Jonah in the Ergo) but once I went back to work, there just never seemed to be enough time. Moving closer to the nature was out of the question - real estate in our part of the world is crazy at best - the average home price at the time was somewhere around $600K. So it was either noisy townhouse or the alternative - moving - and I struggled with it every single day.

It was when he got a little older and I'd find him entranced by the comings and goings of ants and wood bugs that I decided that this child was born to be in the country. He just oozed it. His first words weren't 'cat' or 'juice', but 'moon'. So I started planning for a

very different life... a life somewhere quieter where he could become who he was meant to be, without distraction.

Now, we could have moved anywhere, but it was important that my guy be close to his grandparents. In other words, our choice was pretty simple - we moved back to my hometown, only a 40 minute ferry ride, but what felt like a world, away. It was 2008, and I had no idea how I was going to make it work, but I'd been building my skill set for years and studying everything I could get my hands on that had anything to do with rural living, homesteading and the transition from city to country living. Was I terrified? You bet, but terror slowly turned to 'I can do this!', and we never looked back.

So here we are, almost 4 years later, well ensconced into a new/old life in the forest. Jonah attends a small Waldorf School surrounded by trees and streams, and right across a quiet country road from the beach.

He gets to see his grandparents pretty much every day - something I never experienced in my own childhood - and spends his nonschool time listening to the wind in the trees, collecting and studying bugs and other crit-

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Raising Children in the Country

ters, and communing with our flock of 15 chickens (14 hens and one big beautiful Buff Orpington rooster, to be exact). And now that we've been here awhile, the benefits of the move are becoming clearer every single day.

The Benefits

Now, I'm no child development expert and I can't tell you conclusively that living in the country is any 'better' than living in the city, as they both clearly have their pros and cons, but there are a few things I've observed over the past 4 years that I think are worth noting.

1. Room to Run – This one goes without saying. Children need to move and run and stretch their limbs in order for their physical and mental capacities to develop in a healthy way, and that's pretty difficult in a 1000 square foot apartment with a tiny rooftop deck. They don't need a lot of space, but the simple joy of being able to move freely when the impulse strikes is a real treat to watch. If my son wants to run across the yard on all fours, he can do that - without crashing into anything or stepping into anyone else's space.

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2. Quiet for the Imagination – A big reason why we decided on Waldorf Education, and moved to a rural community, was this - the preservation, and development of, my child's imagination. Not that imagination can't develop in the city, of course - some of our most brilliant people were raised in urban environments - but there's something about quiet, being in nature, that just invites creative thinking and problem-solving, especially for children who are sensitive. With the challenges we're facing in the world, we need creative people, unencumbered by rigid or stunted

thought processes and the distraction of 24/7 noise.

3. Exposure to the Natural World – As you know, our planet is in somewhat of a crisis on the environmental front. Species extinctions, systemic pollution, habitat loss... our children need to be connected to the natural world now more than ever. If they don't feel like they're a part of the world around them, how can we expect them to care about it? So your child spending quiet, extended time in nature benefits us all, and will for generations. I simply can't see how my son would care anywhere near as much about the creatures of the world and its natural systems as he does if he didn't get to see and feel and touch them every day.

4. No Billboards or In-Your-Face Marketing - This one is HUGE - there simply isn't anywhere near the bombardment of visual marketing as there is in the city, where every surface is covered with images talking our children into 'needing' things they don't really need at all. Think about the effects of mainstream media and marketing on children, and then imagine what it would be like to not have that in your child's face every day. It's liberating, and so much better because kids are left alone to be just that - kids.

5. Time to be Together – I'm blessed to work from home, and I'm incredibly busy with my business, but I'm able to spend a lot more time with my son than I did when we lived in the city and I worked in an office, mostly by nature of the fact that we aren't spending hours in traffic every day, nor are we signed up for umpteen lessons and activities. It's been

incredibly freeing, and rewarding, to be able to spend time with him - even when I'm working and serving clients and he's just hanging out with the chickens. Child development expert Gordon Neufeld talks extensively about the importance of children being 'attached' to their caregivers and not their peers - it's much easier to do this when you can actually spend a lot of time together.

Of course, as with anything worth exploring, there are downsides, but in our experience, the great things that have come from our move out of the city far outweigh the negatives, which are, well, pretty much nonexistent. Sure sometimes it's a struggle to get everything done, the power goes out a lot, and we don't have any neighbours at all, let alone with children, so spontaneous play with other kids is sort of out of the question, but even with all that, I can't imagine living anywhere else. I'll let Jonah wrap it up: Why I Like Living in the Country

Are You Ready for

Rural Living?

7 Ways to Know for Sure

1. You don’t mind getting dirty.

2. You can survive without a blow dryer.

3. You’re not worried about fashion statements.

4. You’ve got some money put aside, just in case the whole thing goes sideways.

5. You are flexible in your approach to life, your career, etc.

6. You’re willing to cultivate a ‘beginner’s mind’.

7. You’re comfortable asking for help.

So, are you ready for your move to the country?

Victoria Gazeley is a Wordpress and graphic design specialist living in a heritage log cabin on 6 acres of forest and stream near Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada. She writes on rural living topics, from a newbie’s perspective, at modernhomesteading.ca, and designs for clients at thecabindesignstudio.com. As for Jonah, you can find him at his vlog on country living for children.

These seven traits and preparations are pretty much critical for anyone looking for the rural living lifestyle. Well, maybe not critical, but they sure make the life out here a lot more pleasant. Let’s face it – without them, the squirrel chewing and the mouse poop will be sure to send you packing. They just about did me in.

Read the entire article here: Rural Living – Are You Cut Out For It? 7 Ways to Know For Sure

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Great Stores

If you are on a path to be greener, you know better than to buy frivolously and create waste.

You’re probably not the type to peruse the aisles at Wal-mart or Target, because you know the importance of buying local and avoiding cheaply made, toxic goods.

So then, the challenge becomes…. where can you find quality, locally sourced eco-friendly goodies?

You’ll find the answer at one of the 300+ sellers on Team Eco Etsy.

For those inevitable times when you need to buy products, green handmade items are the best way to be earth friendly. And the best place to shop is from a group of sellers on Etsy called Team Eco Etsy; the ‘go to’ place where you’ll find everything from baby clothes to jewelry to bags and accessories. And even furniture! Team Eco Etsy is one-stop venue for all your purchasing needs for you and your family.

Team Eco Etsy is a group of more than 300 eco-friendly sellers on Etsy who make earthfriendly and sustainable items. Our mission is dedicated to protecting our planet by utilizing methods to reduce carbon footprints in managing our businesses and leading our personal lives in the most eco-friendly manner. We are just as determined to use recycled or sustainable materials in our creations as we are about packaging and shipping in an eco-friendly manner.

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We take the safety of the environment very seriously in the way that we manage our businesses and how we create our items. We also try to educate others about the importance of being environmentally responsible while making it fun and easy.

As a team, we’ve worked together to raise funds for non-profit organizations, through our annual “Handmade for Earth Day Auction” and donate green goods for a social causes like Enchanted Makeover.

We are on Sprint’s Android App called Green ID Pack as a green shopping source. We are on Practically Green’s Group Page where we have an ongoing intra-team eco-friendly competition to see who’s greener. We are collaborating with Earth911 to promote green living and improve recycling and upcycling methods.

Advertorial Shop Ec oEts

y & Use

GCMeco

Code:

to Recei etsy15 ve 15% o ff !

For all your green purchasing needs, visit EcoEtsy.com and click on the category buttons on the left. We’re sure you can find what you are looking for‌ and minimize your impact on the planet all at the same time.

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! n u S e Fu n i n t h Fashions by

Flutter Tan ks made from Dad 's dress sh irts!

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Icons by Isa

Blue Eyes & Bare Feet

Nautical T hemed Beachwe ar in Orga nic French Te rry Cloth

Special thanks to Faith Blackwell of Faith Blackwell Photography for the beautiful shots, and also to Amy Morse, of Bizzy Buckets, for the beautifully decorated galvanized buckets.

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Plan Your Summer Parties in

Eco-Style Memories are made at summer gatherings. Whether it’s a birthday, Memorial Day, church picnic, or family reunion…

Green Planet Parties has eco inspiration to help you use what you have, and ethically sourced products for when you need something new.

How to Create a Woodland Themed Party Summer months are the perfect time to host a woodland themed birthday party. There isn’t a better way to bond children with nature than to give them memories of dancing through the forest where magic is abundant and not a trace of commercialism is found.

Some of the hottest party trends are currently Woodland themes, and there are good reasons -- themes surrounding nature, forest animals, fairies, and gnomes are putting classic themes back into party planning.

It already sounds magical – doesn’t it?

From the moment a woodland themed e-vite is sent, your party already looks different to guests. The focus is more on outdoor décor and activities; bring pinecones, acorns, leaves, dandelions, and painted rocks indoors to decorate!

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Consider: Outdoor Fairy Doors Outdoor Fairy Windows DIY Fairy Door & Paint

Eco Decorating Build the magic with specially selected decorations or ‘gifts’ from the fairies and mark a special forest trail, backyard nook, or park with woodland hints of magic. The Outdoor Fairy Door or Windows are an easy, reusable, and unique way to intrigue party guests. Lead children on a fairy walk, scavenger hunt, or eye-spy and watch how engaged and happy children are! If you want to include a woodland craft, remember how special locally sourced wooden crafts and VOC-free acrylic paints can be to enhance this greener soiree!

Advertorial

Remember to incorporate forest themed food into your party, eliminating synthetic dye and including lots of healthy berries displayed in heart shaped palm plates. Upcycled teacups from the local thrift store make an heirloom addition to your party arsenal that can be reused for many woodland tea parties.

Consider: Palm Leaf Tableware Felted Toadstools Outdoor Activities If you live near, or have access to, a wooded area, a scavenger hunt is a special way to unite older kids with nature. You can also try leaf rubbing, nature trivia Q & A, or just a hike in the woods.

Younger children will love a Fairy Walk where they travel through nature to see what magical “gifts” the fairies might have left behind.

Ethical / Sustainable Favors Loot bags are the last thing party guests remember about their special day with the fairies! Don’t fill the bags with cheap plastic toys – instead include a special felted gift to bring the magic home. Felted toadstools, rings, and ponytail holders are practical and fun for party guests to find in their take-home bags.

Woodland parties are perhaps the most fun of adults to plan because within the heart of every parent is a little ‘Peter Pan Syndrome’ – believing in fairies and never wanting to grow up. Inspire the real magical at your next woodland party with hosting a nature themed party and love the traces of magic that stay after your guests go home.

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Fresh Ide for Farmer’s markets, gardens, picnics, or even fresh veggies in the supermarket -Summer is ideal for trying new foods and teaching kids where their food comes from.

Summer is Ripe for Raising Healthy Eaters Roasted Tomato Soup Refreshing Watermelon Soup What’s In Season Cantaloupe Raspberry Granita Nutritional Nuggets Healthy Ice Lollies Paleo Kid-Friendly Foods 40

Image by D Sharon Pruitt

42 47 48 51 53 54 56 59

Health

eas

thy Summer Foods

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Raising Happy,

Summer is Ripe for

Healthy Eaters |by Kia Robertson

Humans of all ages tend to take interest and care of things that matter to them, whether it's animals, clothes, toys or their bodies. Fruits and vegetables can sometimes be a "tough sell" to kids and I think one way we can change that is to nurture their relationship with food by making real connections for them with their food. When kids are invested in and involved with growing or selecting something they eat, it naturally stirs up feelings of interest, independence and pride. Want proof of this phenomenon? Have you ever tried to recycle a drawing, an old school project or take apart a kid's Lego creation? It can result in tears! Our kids are really attached to what they create so why not take that sense of pride and ownership into the garden and into the kitchen!

Kids like what they know!

Kids are creatures of comfort, most tend to like what they know! By getting our kids gardening they will know what they grow! So let them help you pick out the seeds, plant them and help them grow with watering and even weeding. Not only will they take great pride in what they have grown... they will know their food very well by the time it comes to tasting it!

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Starting a garden If you have the space to garden, you could devote a certain area for your kids to plant their own garden, or you could just keep it as one big family garden. Since kids love color

so much you could plant a Rainbow Garden.

Think of planting produce that will be red, orange, yellow, green and blue/purple! Another idea is to plant produce that germinates quickly. This will appeal to the delight of instant gratification because it can be disappointing for little ones to plant a seed and not be able to see anything growing for a while. Radishes are great for this because they come up in three or four days! Other popular choices zucchini, carrots, lettuce, peas and strawberries.

What if you don't have space to garden?

No problem! Your kids can grow herbs in small pots or the next time you buy a stalk of celery cut off the stalks leaving the bottom and put it in a glass jar with some water... your kids will be thrilled to see new celery growing from the old stalk in a few days!

Many cities now have community gardens so even if you don't have your own yard you can still grow some of your own food! If none of those options will work for your family you can always take your kids to a farmers market where they can talk to the people that grow their food!

Farmers markets have a magical quality that brings families and communities together; farm fresh produce, knowledgeable farmers, and a relaxed outdoor feeling are just some of the benefits you'll enjoy!

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Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters

Here are four benefits of shopping with your family at a farmers market: 1. Aside from growing your own produce, you won't find it any fresher than at a farmers market! The colorful produce is grown locally and picked when perfectly ripened and full of nutrients. This means it will look, smell and taste fantastic. Experiencing produce at its best is great when you are introducing them to your children. No one likes soggy old produce!

2. You have an opportunity to talk to the people that grow your food! Farmers are a fantastic source of information and some have a favorite recipe or two to share! Your children can come up with a few questions for them such as: "what vegetable grows the fastest" or "how do you know when carrots are ready to be picked"? Connecting your children with the foods they eat and the people who grow it is an important step in teaching them how to make smart food choices for themselves.

3. You are making an earth friendly choice when purchasing produce grown in your area.

Buying local produce reduces transportation pollution and costs. Choosing to buy locally grown produce is healthier for you and the planet! It's also a great way to support the hard working farmers in your area.

4. It's a wonderful hands-on learning adventure for your children. Give them a bag and start them on a scavenger hunt to find a rainbow of colorful fruits and veggies! They'll have fun tracking down a red fruit, an orange vegetable and so on! Let them help you select and purchase the produce. The more you involve your children in selecting, preparing and cooking produce the more comfortable and willing they'll be to eat it!

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Raising Happy Healthy Eaters "Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember.

Involve me, I understand." - Carl Orff Whether it's cooking, gardening or any other life skill that you want to pass down to your children, the key is to involve them as much as possible!

When children associate fruits and vegetables with something fun, they are much more likely to give them a try and what could be more fun than making their food grow or getting to shop at a colorful farmer's market!

Children’s books on Gardening

The Good Garden by Katie Smith Milway City Green by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert Children’s books on Farmers Markets

A Day at the Market by Sara Anderson To Market, to Market by Nikki McClure Farmers’ Market by Paul Brett Johnson

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day.

Hand Crafted Clothing for Curious Kids.

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In Anni’s Conscious Kitchen with Conscious Family Living Lifestyle Expert, Anni Daulter

Anni is a Consc ious Fam lifestyle ily Livin expert, g professio advocate nal coo of susta k, i author o f 6 book nable living an s and th commun e new on d ity, Sacre line d Pregna ncy.

Photograph by Alexandra DeFurio

Restorative Soups for the Postpartum Mama!

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Soup is a wonderful expression of love. Each one is hand crafted with the intention of serving up a little home-spun goodness. It’s a beautiful warming and nurturing expression of how much someone cares for their clan. After a woman gives birth, her body is in desperate need for some restorative foods to replenish all that she has lost. Giving birth requires an incredible output of a mother’s physical, emotional and spiritual resources and what better way to nourish her back to her full glory than with some delicious comforting soup.

Here are some perfected soups that any new mama would love and will replenish her body with the nutrients she needs to get onto the business of being with and caring for her baby.

Photo by Elena Rego

Nurturing Roasted Tomato Soup and Rustic Garlic Bread I worked on the soup for 6 months and perfected it. It’s DELICIOUS! People actually beg me to make this for them. Don’t forget the lime squeeze kick at the end…super important!

Ingredients 8 large beef tomatoes 1 whole head of garlic, roasted 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 teaspoons sea salt 1 teaspoon cracked pepper 1 teaspoon tarragon for tomatoes and 1 teaspoon for soup 1 pat of butter 1 large yellow onion, chopped 2 limes, chopped into wedges

1 teaspoon oregano 1 container vegetable stock (16 oz.)

2 vegetable bouillon cubes 4 cups of water 1 handful kale, chopped 1 teaspoon pepper flakes 1 lime 4 slices of your favorite rustic bread, turned into toasted

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Cut all tomatoes in half and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut top off garlic head and get all cloves out.

3. Sprinkle tomatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and tarragon.

4. Add garlic cloves all over the sheet to roast both together.

5. Roast tomatoes and garlic for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

6. Add butter to a large soup pot. Add in chopped onion, along with 1 teaspoon of tarragon and oregano. Brown the onions.

7. Add in roasted tomatoes and garlic, vegetable stock, water, bouillon cubes, kale, and red pepper flakes.

8. Blend the soup together in a blender.

9. Serve immediately with a wedge of lime to squeeze on top of soup right before eating and garlic bread to dip.

47 In Anni’s Conscious Kitchen

Refreshing Watermelon Soup To restore those lost waters + increase the alkaline levels of the post-patnum mama! Watermelon is also packed with vitamin A & C and has powerful natural antioxidants that will help support a healthy baby.

Ingredients: 2 pounds seedless watermelon, cubed 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice ¼ teaspoon fresh grated ginger ¼ cup crème fraiche ¼ cup coconut water 1 cup mango puree Preparation steps for the Watermelon Soup: Place watermelon, mint, lemon juice, ginger, crème fraiche, and coconut water in a blender, and puree to a soup like mixture.

Refrigerate and serve cold with a dollop of mango puree on top and tiny minced fresh mint.

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In Anni’s Conscious Kitchen

Photo by Elena Rego

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Eat Cleaner, Get Leaner!

If getting your kids or kids at heart to eat nutritiously is like pulling teeth, help is on the way.

Eat Cleaner® founder and The Fit Foody, Mareya Ibrahim, is giving recipes a fun, fab rehab.

Watch her every Friday at 1pm ET/10am on YouTube as she competes against other celeb chefs in Recipe Rehab, a competition to recreate a family-favorite dish, but with a healthy twist (like dark chocolate cupcakes with creamy frosting - with beets and cauliflower - that would take on Sprinkles any day!)

In each weekly episode, two chefs battle it out and recreate a family’s favorite recipe (like mac and cheese) and their meals are then judged by the very family who submitted that recipe.

With over 20 years of experience in natural foods and a culinary background, Mareya introduces dairy, gluten and allergen free alternatives that deliver on taste while teaching the ABC’s of food safety, featuring her award winning line of Eat Cleaner® Food Wash and Wipes.

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What’s In Season |by Louise Goldberg RD CSP LD CNSC

Your local farmer’s market is alive with colors and flavors! Challenge your kids to find something they’ve never tried before and bring it home to taste.

Artichokes: One medium artichoke has about 60 calories, zero fat and is loaded with vitamins, fiber and phytonutrients (which have anti-cancer properties).

How to Prep:

Trim the stem. You can cut it off if you want your choke to stand up on a plate later but save those stems because they are tasty.

Take a large knife and cut the top 1/3 of the artichoke leaves. Fan out the leaves a little bit so you can get some water in to wash them.

Use scissors to trim any little thorn on top of each leaf, if necessary.

How to Cook:

No matter how you cook them, artichokes are done when you are able to easily pull a leaf out.

Steaming: Turn upside down in steaming rack over boiling water. You can put some aromatics like thyme or white wine into the water or in the steaming rack. Steam for at least 3040 minutes.

Roasting: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut them into quarters or even sixths so they get done.

When you get to the thorny inner part, go ahead and take out as shown below. Oil or spray a large oven safe dish. Toss the artichokes lightly with oil and any seasonings 51

What’s In Season you desire. Add a couple Tbsp. white wine, lemon slices, thyme leaves-whatever you want for flavor, be creative! Cover with foil.

Bake for 30-40 minutes covered. Then uncover for about 20 minutes more until the chokes get a little crusty and brown. (insert pictures 5 & 6) Grilled: You can steam or boil first to cut grilling time. Cut choke in half. Oil (to prevent sticking), salt, pepper. Place on grill until they get a little crispy. If you have not precooked them and want to place directly on the grill--it will take anywhere from 30-45 minutes and you want to flip halfway.

Dips: For the purist: 1. A little melted butter and lemon is perfect 2. Flavored olive oil and sea salt.

For the more adventurous: 1. 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise + ¼ tsp. Cajun seasonings or 2. 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise + ½ tsp. minced garlic + 1/8 tsp. smoked paprika 3. 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise + 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme + 2 tsp. lemon juice.

How to Eat: Pluck off one of the leaves; dip the bottom into whatever sauce you are using (or nothing is ok too!).

Slide the ‘meaty’ party (the base) of the leaf in between your teeth-1/3 to 1/2 of the leaf can be scraped off.

When you get to the sharp prickly leaves inside, grab them by the top and pull off, revealing yellowish white fuzzy sharp things.

Take your spoon and scoop that out from the base. Don’t scrape too deep or you’ll take away part of the edible heart.

What you should be left with is a beautiful green tiny ‘bowl’-the bottom of the choke.

Enjoy by yourself or if you are nice, you’ll share!

If you fall in love with the artichoke, you should check out the Artichoke Festival in Castroville, CA.

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Cantaloupe Raspberry Granita Melons are beautiful this time of year. Just scoop out the seeds, slice and hand over to the kids.

Berries are sweet and just the right size for little hands. Cantaloupe and raspberries are my kids’ favorites but for this recipe you can use whatever you find at your markets. Blending these two fruits to make a refreshing ice cold treat is the perfect afternoon or after dinner treat on a hot day.

Ingredients: • 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar • 3 Tbsp. Water • 4 cups Cantaloupe (or other melon) • 1 cup Raspberries (or other berries) • 2 Tbsp. Lime Juice • Zest from one Lime Directions: Puree melon and berries in blender until completely liquid.

Combine sugar and water in small pot on stove. Heat until sugar dissolved completely in water. Add sugar water to melon berry puree and blend.

Pour mixture into 13 x 9 glass baking dish. Place on flat surface in freezer.

Every 30 minutes, take fork and scrape the bottom of the dish for approximately 3 hours. 3 hours sounds like a long time but it is easy to do. Let the kids help with this step! This prevents large ice crystals from forming. When the granita is icy but not frozen hard, take out and scoop into bowls.

Enjoy immediately!

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Nutritional Nuggets |by Louise Goldberg

How much Vitamin D does my family need? Should we take a supplement?

doctor about whether a supplement is right for them.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for your child’s mental and physical development, as well as your own bone health. It can be found naturally occurring in fatty fish, such as tuna, mackerel and salmon or supplemented in other foods, such as dairy or orange juice.

Some eggs are much more expensive than others. What’s the difference between all of them and is it worth it to get the pricier ones?

The Institute of Medicine’s most recent recommended amounts are: • 0-12 months: 400 IU • 1 year old-70 years old: 600 IU • Over 70 years old: 800 IU Exclusively breastfed babies or people who live where there is little exposure to sunlight, especially in the winter, should discuss with their 54

With offerings like ‘free-range’, ‘certified humane’, and ‘Omega-3’, it’s no wonder people are confused about what eggs to buy. While no growth hormones are used in commercial egg production in the United States, there are other differences you may find important and worth the extra money. Even the priciest eggs are still one of the least expensive high quality sources of protein! Here’s a quick breakdown of the commonly found labels: • Omega-3: The chickens are fed a diet high in Omega 3 fatty acids, which affects the nutrition in the yolk of the egg.

• Free-range: The chickens are able to move about and may have the opportunity to be inside or outside.

• Cage-free: The chickens are not kept in cages but do not spend time outdoors.

• Organic: The chickens do not receive antibiotics and are given feed that is free of pesticides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers.

• Certified Humane: The chickens are antibiotic-free, cage-free and are raised in an “environment that promotes [the animal’s] well-being” as established by a committee of veterinarians and animal scientists. For more information about the ‘Certified Humane’ label, check out www.CertifiedHumane.org.

If you buy from a local farmers market, they may not have gone through the official process of becoming certified with these labels but you can ask the farmer directly about the type of feed and living conditions of their chickens.

My husband and I love having a cup of coffee every morning but lately I have been drinking an extra cup or two after I get to work. How much is too much?

Most people can handle about 200-300 milligrams of caffeine (which equates to 2-3 cups of home-brewed coffee, depending on how strong you make it). Recent studies have actually indicated consuming a moderate amount of coffee has some mild health benefits; however keep in mind that coffee isn’t the only beverage or food that contains caffeine. Take inventory of other possible sources in your diet: teas, sodas, chocolate and ‘energy’ drinks. If you consume more than 500 milligrams of caffeine each day, you may start feeling negative effects, such as upset stomach, a rapid heartbeat and insomnia.

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Healthy IceLollies Popsicles are a summer favorite treat. When you make your own, you know exactly what’s in them.

Super Hero Ice Pops 1 cup of organic greek yogurt 1/2 fresh spinach leaves (the super hero colour!)

1 tablespoon of raw organic wild honey 1 medium banana Optional - add 2 teas of hemp seeds for extra protein Blend in food processor or mixer freeze until frozen and enjoy!

Tropical Ice Lollies 1/2 cup frozen mangos 1/2 cup 70% chocolate chips 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 1/2 cup strawberries 1/2 cup of Silk Fruit & Protein "Juice" Put all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and give a whirl until blended well. (about 40 seconds) The frozen mangos in this make it perfect if you want to have right away for a slushie.

Otherwise, put into your ice-lolli molds (Like these ones from Onyx). They take about 3 hours to freeze, then enjoy!

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Recipes submitted by Nicki, Island Girl.

Love Munchkin is a line of simple, safe, effective and uncomplicated skin nourishing oils made from the highest quality natural plant based ingredients.

Ingredients are legible, explained, and well-researched.

Love Munchkin is also very Earth friendly and uses recycled materials whenever possible.

Some of our products: * Belly Oil * Newborn & Sensitive Skin Oil * Newborn & Sensitive Skin Oil + Exzema Essentials * Newborn & Sensitive Skin Oil + Colic Essentials All Hand Made with Love!

Preservative Free.

Vegan.

Non-Toxic.

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Is a Paleo Diet Better for Your Family

…And Better for the Planet? |by Tiffany Washko

If you follow nutrition news, you’ve likely heard of the Paleo or Primal Diet. Many have adopted it for health reasons, but the environmental implications of eating more meat and fewer grains have come up for debate. Green Child Magazine asked Tiffany Washko, founder of one of the first green mom blogs – Nature Moms to weigh in on why her family made the educated decision to incorporate a paleo approach into their previously plant-based diet.

Meal preparation and cooking for green moms can be tricky. We tend to analyze everything we buy and consume, wondering if it is the healthiest, safest, and most nutritionally intact food that can be found.

Add to this concerns about sustainable farming practices and many green moms may decide to go with a plant based diet. Others yet may decide that unsavory agricultural practices and GMOs similarly taint plant food options and plant staples such as grains and soy must go.

I spent a couple years experimenting with my own diet and my family’s diet, trying to make heads or tails of all the choices myself.

Ultimately, my family decided that a paleo or primal diet best suited our dietary needs. And when followed properly, it also met all of our requirements for a sustainable diet.

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We decided to go paleo in large part because of all the studies and books published of late that incriminate grains and refined carbohydrates.

We knew from our own experiences that these

foods made us feel bloated and tired from an insulin roller coaster ride as the carbohydrates converted to sugar inside our bodies. The effects of this process were noticeable in all of us.

Quite commonly we would also feel famished only an hour or so after having just eaten a large grain-heavy meal like pizza or pasta. I also knew from my research on nutrition that grains have anti-nutrients that actually hinder your body from absorbing the nutrients it requires for optimum health, much the same way nuts do.

Whereas soaking nuts was relatively easy, soaking grains and making all my own pasta and bread, was a bit more work than these foods were worth in my mind. These observations combined with books like Wheat Belly and The Paleo Solution led us to what we now consider a better way.

For some time now we have been free of grains, pseudo grains like quinoa, and legumes/beans. We made the conscious decision

Kid-Friendly Paleo Foods • Blueberries • Strawberries • Avocados • Carrots • Broccoli • Eggs • Salmon

to purchase high-quality grass fed or pastured animal products, which are better for us… and the planet.

For this former vegetarian, it was a big change indeed!

We also make it a point to include nutrient dense fish products, fermented fish oils, and organ meats. All those healthy fats and nutrients keep us satiated and they ensure that our brains have fuel to function at their best. While a strict paleo diet usually does not include milk, we opted to go primal, or lacto-paleo.

I did not want to abandon our delicious fermented and probiotic rich dairy favorites like cottage cheese, kefir, and yogurt.

We are lucky to live where we can get products such as this from a local grass fed dairy, or get the required milk to make them at home.

In general we now eat very little processed food. Because restaurants are not usually paleo friendly, we rarely eat out. All of this has made for a much healthier diet.

• Spinach • Broccoli • Melons • Tomatoes • Turkey • Nuts

The change in our health and lifestyle has been dramatic and encouraging. The bloating and constant hunger is gone. We have more energy and we have all lost some visceral fat that had accumulated around our bellies. We also maintain our high energy levels and do not see them skyrocket and subsequently plummet with every meal.

With every bite, we are reducing our risk for diabetes. And at every meal, we are nourishing our cells with high quality foods. For us, the diet experimentation has concluded and we have settled on a paleo diet as best for our health and our environmental sensibilities.

Continu Books o

ed Read

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Paleo w

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ith Kids • Eat Lik ea • Paleo P Dinosaur als: J Rocket S immy and the Ca hip rrot

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30 Ways

to Reduce Your Impact |by Lisa Borden

I must admit that I wouldn’t have ever guessed that reducing would be a hobby of mine. But once my family started to cut back and took the time to understand our impact on the planet, we realized it was something we could be good at - and be proud of - together.

I hope that what my family has done (so far, because it's a work in progress) inspires you and your family on your own path of living a little bit lighter.

1. Choose organic/ethical clothing as much as possible - reducing chemicals, formaldehyde, phthalates coming into your home.

2. Avoid buying single-use items.

3. Don’t buy or chew gum. If you can’t break the habit, try Glee Gum. it's all natural, plus in a little box, none of those plastic blister packs in more packaging).

4. Rethink buying gift wrap. We reuse what's around, including the kids’ artwork, magazines, catalogues, junk mail, or we use a reusable bag or a dishcloth, scarf or towels so the wrap is part of the gift. The kids come up with the most creative ideas.

5. Skip water in plastic bottles - including vitamin waters, herbal waters and other bottle drinks pretending to be better than bottled water.

6. Choose products that have less packaging, and safer packaging (glass over plastic, tube over tube AND a box etc.).

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7. Skip the takeout containers. Bring your own bag or container if you suspect you’ll be getting takeout or bringing home leftovers.

Learn more at Take Out Without, a campaign I started. Occasionally, we bend this rule if the containers are compostable. Be sure you actually compost it!

8. Return egg, fruit, berries and veggie containers and cartons to the farmers at the markets for reuse.

9. Shop for local, organic produce at the Farmers' Markets, which is incredible for so many reasons, but also means NO pesky stickers on each piece!

10. Bring your own bags to the farmers' market.

The vendors love it, and so do we. These bread bags are pretty awesome and baggies are fair-trade made!).

11. Ask servers at restaurants not to give paper and plastic disposables - napkins, placemats, straws, cups, ketchup and soy sauce packets (don't get me started on that green plastic

sushi grass!). Kids seem to love this one and be very on top of it – more than I am!

12. Make your own household cleaners.

your family (no matter how cute they are).

We share them with others electronically.

13. Reuse cloths (and old t-shirts that are too stained and torn for hand-me-downs) for cleaning cloths around the house.

22. Pack a litterless lunch.

14. Buy the largest size product for packaged foods like grains and beans.

24. Wash laundry in cold water and hang dry when the weather allows.

15. Carry People Towels for drying and wiping hands. They make a great carrier or placemat for food, too.

25. Try to buy less of everything. Buy quality from ethical and sustainable sources so it lasts longer and your family values it more.

16. Avoid prepackaged, processed foods. In other words, eat Real Food.

26. Try to remember to unplug chargers, refusing to use energy when it's not even working for us. Put the kids in charge for increased success.

17. Give used clothing to charity or to friends and accept theirs, too. Or try Craigslist or Freecycle.

18. Use Glass Straws by a wonderful eco-minded company like Strawsome instead of plastic ones.

23. Use cloth napkins for all meals.

27. Cancel newspaper subscriptions and read your news online.

28. Volunteer where we can, to inform and inspire others.

19. Print as little as possible and always use both sides.

29. Teach our kids to be proud of all they do, no matter what the reaction is from others.

20. Remodel your child’s art into other art, or make it into gift tags (after taking digital pictures to preserve the memory, of course).

This is sometimes a difficult one to make the kids feel good about. And yes, we do keep some creations each year!

30. We live (and I work) by this African Proverb ~ If you think you're too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.

21. Don’t feel like you have to print every picture of

Lisa Borden is the author of The Alphabet of Avoidance and creator of Borden Communications. As a consultant to small businesses, corporations, non-profit organizations, school groups and individuals as well as a dynamic campaign and brand ambassador, Lisa’s message is, “Every action and every dollar matters and has an impact – so we’d better take each step wisely. Together.”

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the

More you Know

eco: EcoMom® Alliance

EcoMom® Alliance is a non-profit 501-c-3 organization nurturing, connecting, and empowering mothers to create a healthy and sustainable world. With programs reaching more than a million families each year, this organization impacts and inspires communities just like yours.

Founder, Kimberly Pinkson talks to Green Child Magazine about the deeper meaning of being an “Eco Mom.”

: What inspired you to start Eco Mom Alliance?

Kimberly: I feel beholden to do everything

I can to make this world a healthy, happy place for my son and I know most moms feel like this. It’s as if at the moment we give birth we’re suddenly connected to an ancient and biological chord that unites us, and drives us to protect, nurture, and steward. I began to wonder what the world would be like if all mothers embraced this consciously, and began to flex our power as a collective network.

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I’ve had some pretty intense experiences with bears while alone in the wilderness and it led me to the realization that one of the strongest forces in nature is a network of mothers, because we all have that mama bear drive in us to protect our young. So EcoMom® Alliance is about supporting and propelling a global network of mothers, and using our power to

support a healthier and more thriving environment for our children, and future generations of children.

: How has your perspective changed since starting the organization?

Kimberly: From the get go, this was about

more than just our external environment, which is why we say, “Sustain Your Self, Sustain Your Family, Sustain Our World”. I’ve re-

alized though, even more deeply, how much we need each other. How much we need to support each other in raising women’s voices.

We are part of the environment and our wombs are every child’s first environment.

There is no “other” or “out there.”

We live at a time in which there is great opportunity and also great despair. There is not one part of our ecosystem that is not under threat of extinction, including our selves.

And here, as Americans, we sit on a tremendous amount of power, growing up and raising our daughters with the message “You can do it all.” But the thing is, you can’t do it all.

There is always sacrifice, and we need to start acknowledging that, letting go of judgment (of ourselves and other women) and redefining our priorities as individuals and a culture.

We have to find new ways of fulfilling our drive for abundance; ways that fill us from a place deeper than can just the outward trappings we currently use to define success; ways that will ripple out and not only bring us a greater sense of joy and contentment, but help reduce many of the challenges we currently face.

A community outreach event in NY for Sustain Your Self Day

: What inspiring programs are you working on right now?

Kimberly speaks at the World Women's Forum

Kimberly: Well we’re always busy with our

premier program Green Halloween! Right now we’re also very involved in the Just Label It campaign to require labeling of Genetically Engineered food. 40+ other countries around the world, including Brazil, Japan, South Korea, all of Europe and China are doing a better job of protecting their children then is the United States. With growing evidence linking genetically modified food to diseases such as breast cancer, there is no moral reason that clear labeling should not at least give American consumers the option to choose.

Environmentally related disease is costing us more than $76 billion dollars every year.

Moms are on the front line, able to make a positive difference as role models and a market force. There is no better time than today, to reach out to a neighbor and start working together, collectively shifting to a healthier and more fulfilling way of life on this planet we all share.

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Ask Hana Haatainen Caye

Tennille asks: I am moving (again) into a house that has an old washer and dryer that haven’t been used for a very long time. I’m planning to run a cup full of vinegar in the washer, but I have no idea what to do to clean the dryer. Any advice as to how to clean them?

GG: I can understand your concern! You want to make sure there is no lingering mildew or other bacteria lurking in your washer or dryer. I would wipe both machines out really well with distilled white vinegar before pouring a cup into the washer for a cycle. Take some old towels/rags, saturate them with vinegar and run them through the dryer. That should kill any lingering germs. Of course, there will be a pretty strong vinegar smell in your laundry room, but it will dissipate quickly. Enjoy your new home, Tennille!

Mollie asks: I know you recommend using vinegar to clean nearly everything, but I just can’t stand the smell of it. Do you have any suggestions?

GG: Mollie, you’re certainly not alone with this concern! Many people seem to skip the benefits of using vinegar and opt for toxic alternatives that smell like lemon or something equally as pleasant. One of the Green Grandma community members let me know about her solution to this problem, and I absolutely love it!

Here is the wonderfully delightful tip Jessica shared: Add citrus peels to a gallon of distilled white vinegar. Close the lid and let it ‘steep’ for 4 – 6 weeks. You will be amazed at how yummy the vinegar smells when you open the bottle! Strain the liquid and use this vinegar for cleaning. Your home will smell like oranges, lemons, grapefruit, or limes (depending on the peels you choose), or a citrusy combination of any or all of them.

As a bonus, I started rinsing my hair with my Mandarin orange infused vinegar. Forget that toxic herbal shampoo … this is truly an organic experience!

Hana Haatainen Caye is a wife, mother and grandmother who shares her passion for common sense greener and healthier living. Based on the most popular feature of her blog, Hana’s first book, Vinegar Fridays, is now available. Have a question for Green Grandma? Ask here!

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You Can Recycle

That ?

Even in today’s increasingly eco-friendly society, most people are still under the assumption that recyclable items are limited to plastic bottles or paper products. In reality, local and national organizations are on their way to collecting almost anything that usually ends up in the trash. Here are a few unexpected items that can be part of your home’s recycling routine.

• If your kids are tired of drawing with old crayons, don’t throw them out: give them new life by sending them to the Crayon Recycle Program at www.crazycrayons. com. This national initiative will collect the crayons and turn them into Crazy Crayons – old crayons melted into fun shapes and swirled colors – which you can then order for your kids to enjoy!

• Join the Jewelry Brigade at TerraCycle!

Send in your old or broken jewelry for free and get a fair price from a trusted source while donating an additional percentage to a charity or local school.

• TerraCycle offers other unusual free collection programs. Mail in your worn-out flip flops to receive an exclusive coupon for an in-store purchase at Old Navy. Thanks to partner Logitech, you can also mail in old keyboards, webcams and mice, and earn money for your favorite charity by participating. Electronics and office supply stores also accept a variety of equipment to recycle, including computers and mobile phones, so don’t forget to check locally, as

well. Visit www.terracycle.com to get more information on any of its collection programs.

• Re-doing your floors? The Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) provides solutions for recycling carpet. Visit www.carpetrecovery.org for more information, and click the “Waste Diversion” tab to view a list of CARE’s carpet reclamation partners. There are many options for home or business owners, including drop-off locations and pick-up services.

• Find your nearest Habitat for Humanity ReStore by visiting www.habitat.org/restores to donate building materials, furniture or appliances. The ReStores will sell the used items, and the proceeds fund local Habitat construction.

• Check out www.Earth911.com to discover recycling opportunities in your local area.

Just type in what you want to recycle and your zip code, and Earth 911 provides a list of drop off locations or mail-in opportunities.

Participating in collection programs like these not only help the environment but also give you the opportunity to clean out your home; make some money for yourself, charities or schools; give back to those in need; and teach your children that recycling can be easy and fun!

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Nutrition Advice You Can Trust A Registered Dietitian with over a decade of experience working with children and families to find realistic solutions for their nutrition concerns. All from the comfort of your home with one-on-one consultations online or by phone.

Perfect for working parents and convenient during naptimes!

Specializing in: •Pediatrics

•Maternal Health •Food Aversions (“Picky eater” or sensory issues) •Weight Concerns •Food Allergies or Intolerances •Failure to Thrive, Poor growth and weight gain •Reflux An Apple A Day Nutrition Consulting Louise Goldberg RD, CSP, LD, CNSC Online: www.AnAppleADayNutrition.com Email: Louise@AnAppleADayNutrition.com Phone: 713.478.3823

•Celiac Disease •GI motility issues •Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis •and more…

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Your Green Child

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